Answered By: Jeffrey Orrico

Last Updated: Feb 03, 2017Views: 842

Snakes, being cold-blooded, become active and more readily seen by us as the weather warms.

The only poisonous snakes native to Connecticut are the Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake. The Eastern Water Snake, which can be seen in lakes and streams, is NOT poisonous, although some mistake it for the Cottonmouth Snake (sometimes called the Water Moccasin), which is poisonous but which lives in southern states. However, all snakes can cause bite injuries.

Additional information and photographs of a large variety of snakes can be viewed at the Snakes of North America webpage authored by Dr. Martin C. Schmidt, Dept. of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine - http://www.pitt.edu/~mcs2/herp/SoNA.html.

You may be able to visit or speak with the herpetologist at Beardsley Zoo (Bridgeport), Connecticut’s only zoo - http://www.beardsleyzoo.org/ .

Many reference articles, images, and journal articles about snakes are included in the Science in Context (Science Resource Center) database; copy and paste the entire URL below in your browser’s address bar:

Our catalog lists some more comprehensive snake guidebooks which you can peruse when the Sacred Heart University library, or you can search the holdings of Connecticut public libraries on the iConn website: www.iconn.org.